THIS IS THE REAL STORY OF WHAT A CULL IS DOING TO A SMALL TOWN

CRUEL  BARBARIC TRAPPING OF DEER IN INVERMERE TAKES PLACE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN FRONT OF NEIGHBOURS

Terrible and strange incidents are happening during the "cull" of the deer in Invermere. The District of Invermere and the contractor Larry Mullikin are trapping and killing deer in broad day light and people are reporting that contractor is trying to lure deer into his traps with food and fruits in the middle of the day. . Here is what was reported by one of the locals. -  "Just a few days ago, a trapping took place in the trap of a deer committee's daughter's property. There was a deer in the trap thrashing and trying to get away in broad daylight in full view from the window of his neighbour.  The neighbour watched the deer thrashing around in the trap continuously, bashing it's head against the wire mesh for more than an hour.  As he knew what was going on with the cull, he assumed the trappers would be coming immediately, but he waited more than an hour while this poor animal continued to injure itself.  Finally, he could no longer stand it and decided to go to the trap himself with the intent of contacting the killers and telling them of their capture, so he went to the trap to search for a phone number or contact info, but there was nothing there. Again, he looked at the deer inside - it's head was bloody and as there were so many cuts and wounds all over its body, he questioned whether or not that deer would survive.  But out of compassion, he lifted the door and let the deer go.  As it snowed heavily the day before, he left tracks of footprints on the snow  so when the  Deer Committee member returned, he followed these tracks to this neighbour's house and started screaming at him.  They had a confrontation and although the neighbour tried to explain the situation, the member did not believe him, so he called the police and charged his neighbour. This is the real situation in in Invermere right now - the once peaceful and tranquil town is now covered in the darkness of neighbour against neighbour bullying, and the blood of voiceless, helpless animals."


There are several issues one has to consider here.  Should a person be subjected to viewing this abject cruelty and not take action to stop it, even though they could be witnessing what amounts to extreme animal cruelty and torture?  If a wild animal is put into a small space for hours on end, it is only natural they will cause injury to themselves by trying to escape.  In this situation, it was only one hour and in this amount of time the animal had almost split open it's skull - try to imagine how much damage an animal would have inflicted upon itself having being trapped for hours on end.  Secondly, what kind of town council sets up a situation where neighbours are pitted against each other because of the absolute immorality of the situation, particularly when there are so many non-lethal humane alternatives available that would be acceptable to all.  The situation in the small town will only become worse as people hear the screams of the deer in the night, as mother deer, fawns and pregnant deer who are waiting for hours start banging themselves bloody against the steel traps only to next experience the cruel torture of the bolt gun - a steel rod that goes into the brain (and which may or may kill them only after several tries because of the struggling animal needing to be properly restrained.)  Never mind the fact that Mr Larry Milliken is not a trained trapper and has no qualifications what-so-ever to carry out this "humane death" and that no-one professional or from the world of animal welfare is allowed to witness this or determine if this indeed is a "humane" method of killing.

Invermere Deer Protection Organization's Proposal to the Town Council

"We are sensitive to the needs and concerns of all of the town residents -regardless of their pro-cull or anti-cull leanings. We are willing to work with everyone in the town and listen to their concerns. Not only are we willing to listen, we are willing to address their concerns actively. If the council is willing to call a temporary halt to the cull, we offer the following-

 We will work together with all the town residents and the DOI council to lobby, pressure and convince the provincial government for additional non-lethal measures and options to be approved.

 We will privately raise funds and recruit volunteers for fencing around the town perimeter to reduce intrusion of deer and other large wild animals into the town. It can be done with zero cost to the province and the DOI.

We will privately raise funds and recruit vounteers for hazing the current deer population with border collie dogs and drive them away from the town perimeter. This can be done with zero cost to theprovince and the DOI.

 We will privately raise funds and recruit volunteers for contraceptive measures for the town deer. Once again, this can be done with zero cost to the province and the DOI.

We will privately raise funds and recruit volunteers for relocation of the town deer. Once again, this can be done with zero cost to the province and the DOI.

 We will establish volunteer deer patrol to attend to the reports of aggressive deer within the town perimeter and identify and deal with any aggressive deer. Once again, this will not cost DOI anything.

 We will establish voluteer educators to educate the children in the school and the residents of Invermere about deer safety and how to avoid deer-human conflicts and risks.

 We will privately pay for education materials and campaigns for deer safety and risk avoidance.

Please re-consider the cull plan and give everyone a chance to unite this town again and heal the wounds created by this divisive issue. If you do not accept this offer, it will clearly show that your goal is not a solution to any specific issue - but you are guided by an ulterior motive to KILL only and nothign but KILLING the deer will satisfy you. "

The mayor Gerry Taft responded as follows: "Would you and other people in your group still be willing to work with us on the items you have listed above, if a limited cull occurs for the next two and half weeks?"  (in other words, can we kill as many  deer as possible in the time that we have left and then after that will you do my job for me? for free?) 

 

Obviously, the mayor and the council continue to refuse to listen to rational non lethal alternatives that have been presented to them as clearly as possible  and now they are determined to fill their quota for culled deer. They seem to fail to realize the inappropriate cruelty and brutality has been reaching people throughout Canada and the world and that thousands of people  have signed petitions and expressed their disgust as this backwards small town council refuses to listen to rationale and compassionate reasoning.

DEER TO BE CULLED DESPITE BEST EFFORTS OF INVERMERE DEER PROTECTION ORGANIZATION TO HAVE INJUNCTION EXTENDED TO STOP CULL

IDPT despite their strong effort to convince the judge of the need to extend the injunction were defeated by the argument that the deer present a "public safety issue" despite the fact that not even one person in the area has ever been injured by the gentle animals.  The mayor and council continue to refuse to listen to rational non lethal alternatives that have been presented several times to them during the injunction and now are determined to fill their quota for culled deer.  They seem to fail to realize that the inappropriate cruelty and brutality of the culls have been reaching people throughout Canada and now the world and that thousands of people  have signed petitions and expressed their disgust as this backwards small town council refuses to listen to rationale and compassion.  Barb Julien - an animal activist best expresses the plight of the deer as follows "The deer will be .. attracted inside a trap using fruits .... In the middle of the winter when food is scarce for them, they will go inside the trap - just hoping to eat something so that they can survive the harsh winter. Little will they know that this will be their last meal and that they will not see another sun rise in their life again ... the trap will close in on them suddenly. They will get frightened and desperately try to escape - but the trap is made of steel and they will have no way to get out. There in the dark of the night they must wait - cold, hungry and frightened, they will wait inside the trap for the killers to arrive. With them will be bolt guns - a gun that shoots a 4 inch long steel bolt inside the deer's head. They will come and collapse the trap on top of the deer and wrestle the deer to the ground. One of the killers will try to hold the head of the deer steady. The deer will struggle and cry - but the killers will not care. As soon as one of the killers can hold the deer's head, the other killer will shoot the bolt gun ... The struggling deer will try to move its head away - but the killers will shoot anyway ... Sometimes, the killers will need to shoot the bolt repeatedly to kill the deer ... in the eyes or the neck or wherever they can, and eventually they will succeed. This is how the last night of the deer's life will be."

This unfortunately is the reality of the situation and now this massacre will begin...

Please watch the latest newscast on the Deer Protest - It's gone global


http://www.globaltvbc.com/video/invermere+cull+controversy/video.html?v=2198738117#stories/video

RALLY TO SAVE THE DEER

“Invermere Deer Protection Organization” will be holding a protest rally on Saturday February 18th at 1:00 at the Cenotaph in Invermere. This peaceful protest will be an opportunity for the community as a whole to show their support and also to speak with the members of the rapidly growing group. There will be information on the many alternatives to help manage the deer populations without using the extreme method of killing.

This same grassroots group won a temporary injunction in the BC Supreme court to postpone the cull until February 24, 2012. The municipal council was prepared to begin a cull of 100 deer without what this group thought was adequate consultation or discussion on examining other humane non-lethal alternatives. Since winning the temporary injunction on the cull from the BC Supreme Court, the organization has been flooded with requests to join by the members of the community. The staunchly pro-cull mayor of Invermere has also taken an openly partisan position on this issue and has been inciting a few of his pro-cull friends - ignoring all decorum of a sitting mayor and the highest elected official of the town.
For more information on this please contact Vince Zurbriggen at (250) 342-5529 or visit http://savethebcdeer.blogspot.com/ or http://www.invermeredeer.com/

Valentine's Day Story

 

 

By KIM PEMBERTON, Vancouver Sun February 14, 2012

 

 

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Cull delayed for community under siege by deer.

Photograph by: Handout, PNG

A planned deer cull in the District of Invermere, set to start Thursday, has been suspended after a local animal rights group won a temporary injunction in B.C. Supreme Court.
Devin Kazakoff, president of the Invermere Deer Protection Organization, said his group formed in January after the district succeeded in getting a permit in December to cull 100 animals from its urban deer population of 175. Many in the community feel the animals are out of control, posing safety hazards and causing nuisance to residents.
But Kazakoff said his group of about 100 is pushing for an alternative solution. “We believe in a non-lethal solution — an injection to prevent them from having babies for six to eight years. The cost is higher for contraception, double [the cost of doing a cull] but we believe it will save money down the road since they won’t have to do a cull every year.” The injunction will postpone the cull until Feb. 25 but Kazakoff said his group is willing to continue the legal challenge to stop it altogether. He added the injunction was granted on the grounds the district had moved too quickly toward the cull, without adequately consulting the public.
But Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft said Monday his council has done a year and a half of work and set up a citizens’ committee to find a solution to deal with complaints about aggressive deer, looking at options such as “relocation, fencing, birth control and hazing with dogs.” Last August, the committee reported back with a recommendation to proceed with the cull and continue to investigate alternative means to deal with the problem in the future. Taft said city council has received complaints about deer eating residents’ gardens but that wasn’t the reason they want to go ahead with the cull.
“The reason is public safety. We’ve had complaints of people and dogs being charged at by deer. We’ve had situations of people afraid to leave home.”
Taft said his council was disappointed the injunction was granted, “especially at the last minute.”
“We’re trying to get into court to overturn the injunction and defend the lawsuit where 14 people are making a claim they have suffered emotional pain at the thought of the deer cull,” he said.
Invermere would have been the third B.C. community to act on its permit from the province to cull deer this winter.
To date, Cranbrook has culled 25 deer and Kimberley culled 100 this fall.
Grand Forks and Penticton were also considering a cull but so far no applications from those communities have been received, said Brennan Clarke, spokesman for the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Grand Forks Mayor Brian Taylor said his community had been contemplating a cull, but it is now undecided and doesn’t plan to apply for a permit this year.
“The road ahead for us is we’d like to be a model community and find ways to live in harmony with deer instead of doing a short-term cull.”
He estimates there are about 300 deer within the district and many residents are “past their tolerance level” with them.
“What’s alarming is some people are acting as vigilantes and using pellet guns to shoot them. There are deer everywhere. People are living in armed camps with fences erected. It’s a battleground out there for their garden.”
kpemberton@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

 

 

Again Across County - National News

Court injunction halts Invermere deer cull

CBC News

Posted: Feb 13, 2012 2:43 PM PT

Last Updated: Feb 13, 2012 5:54 PM PT

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Invermere mayor responds to deer cull injunction5:38

Court injunction halts Invermere urban deer cull7:00

The Invermere Deer Protection Organization has successfully halted a planned deer cull in that community. (CBC)A temporary court injunction against the District of Invermere has stopped a scheduled deer cull.
The district planned to kill up to 100 urban deer, beginning this past weekend, but on Friday the Invermere Deer Protection Organization got a interm court injunction to stop the cull.
"We didn't feel that the public was adequately consulted before they reached the decision to kill the deer," said spokesperson Devon Kazakoff.
"We believe that there's other humane methods to deal with problems in the area. The public wasn't given the proper opportunity to have their voices be heard."
Invermere mayor Gerry Taft says most people in the community support the cull and says a small, persistent, group is making the process more difficult than it needs to be.
"We are also disappointed that a small group of people in the community will cost Invermere legal fees to explore this and potentially fight this. They have been unsuccessful in winning a lot of public support or in changing the minds of council, so they have now gone the legal route," said Taft.
Taft said the district's lawyers have until Feb. 24 to if it will challenge the interim injunction.
Deer have become a nuisance in the East Kootenay, attacking pets and even people, but opposition is growing to the region's plan to cull up to 225 urban deer by the end of 2012.
Invermere is the third Kootenay community to begin killing urban deer. Cranbrook began culling deer in the fall; Kimberley conducted its cull in January.

The news goes national!

Injunction halts B.C. deer cull plan

 

Invermere's mayor left 'frustrated'

 

By Bryan Weismiller, Calgary Herald February 12, 2012

 

 

A deer cull in B.C. has been suspended until late February after an interim injunction was filed hours before it was set to begin.
The District of Invermere had planned on culling more than 100 deer, which town officials say was needed for public safety.
However, The Supreme Court of British Columbia, granted a temporary injunction last week.
Invermere mayor Gerry Taft said he was "frustrated and disappointed," after receiving the injunction, which is in place until Feb. 24.
Mule deer are known to be aggressive, Taft said, adding town residents have reported baby carriages and dogs have been charged.
"People say 'the deer bring tourists and it's an attraction,'" he said. "When they're running around eating garbage and getting aggressive it's no longer an attraction."
Some were elated by the news, including more than a dozen members of the In-vermere Deer Protection Organization who called for the temporary injunction.
Devin Kazakoff, president of the unregistered group, said IDPO members have been lobbying for a non-lethal solution to the overpopulation.
"I'm ecstatic," he said. "We were very happy as a group."
Around 175 currently reside in the town 279 kilometres southwest of Calgary, according to the Invermere deer committee. Town officials are now looking to reduce the number of deer to 50.
Kazakoff said the group seeks a more humane alternative such as sterilization. He also said the cull was "hastily decided on" and town residents were not adequately consulted.
Although the Invermere mayor disagreed, saying the town has worked on curbing the deer population since May 2009.
Based on recommendations put forth by the provincial government later that year, Taft said committee members then looked at ways of controlling the population, including transporting the deer elsewhere, culling them and implementing birth control measures - such as sterilization.
"Quite a bunch of research was done," he said.
Last August, town council was presented with the various options and decided to move ahead with the cull.
The province granted a permit in December.
Opposition, including worldwide petitions, has picked up since then, Taft said, but it's time to move forward.
"A lot of residents have told us they want action instead of studying it further and further," he said. "It's already been a lengthy process so far."
Both Taft and Kazakoff said it's up to lawyers to decide what happens next.
Deer reduction has also been planned in other areas of B.C. including Cranbrook and Kimberley, and has stirred similar concerns.
"As far I'm concerned, those deer are our ancestors," said Gordon Wilson, a Radium resident who has spent time in Invermere. "Honestly, I could cry, man.
"I'm pretty sad about it, pretty emotional."
bweismiller@ calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

 

 

 

More information on the Injunction

Last-minute injunction halts Invermere deer cull

February 10 2012.

Echo FIle Photo
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Published: February 10, 2012 11:00 AM
Updated: February 10, 2012 12:05 PM

Members of the Invermere Deer Protection Organization (IDPO) have obtained a temporary injunction from the Supreme Court of British Columbia to halt the proposed cull of 100 Invermere urban deer until February 24.
District of Invermere (DOI) mayor Gerry Taft was only served with the injunction late last night, on the eve of the proposed cull moving forward. The clover traps had already arrived following the recent cull in Kimberley, and as The Echo had reported yesterday the cull was likely to begin this weekend.
"I'm disappointed," Taft told The Echo Friday. "I'm disappointed that it came in at the last minute, and I'm also disappointed that there is a small number of people—there are 14 people who signed the affidavit as part of the petition to the court. No matter what, it's going to cost the DOI some money in legal fees. At this point it is with our legal council, who are exploring all the legal options, and we've also made contact with the provincial government to let them be aware of the situation—so at this point I guess it's a waiting game."
More to follow as further information becomes available.

ALERT - THE DEER CULL IN INVERMERE IS STOPPED